Astarte was an all-female

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece, named after the goddess Astarte.

History

Astarte first formed under the name Lloth in September 1995 at

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

.Henderson, Alex " Astarte Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', Macrovision Corporation The original line-up included Maria "Tristessa" Kolokouri (bass, guitar, keyboards), who subsequently took over on lead vocals, Nemesis (guitar), and Kinthia (vocals, guitar). They had Psychoslaughter, the drummer from Greek band Invocation, play for the sessions on their

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

, ''Dancing in the Dark Lakes of Evil'', released as Lloth in 1997. Shortly thereafter they adopted the name Astarte, named after the Semitic goddess of sexuality. Their debut full-length album, ''Doomed Dark Years'', appeared in 1998 on

Black Lotus Records Black Lotus Records was an independent record label based in Greece that specialized in metal. After licensing a number of new artists, Black Lotus Records declared bankruptcy and all announced titles are on hold indefinitely. See also * List o ...

; two further LPs followed on the label. After lineup changes in which Nemesis and Kinthia left to be replaced by Katharsis (keyboards) and Hybris (guitar), they released their fourth and fifth albums on

Avantgarde Music Avantgarde Music is an Italian record label, formed as a continuation of Obscure Plasma Records, focusing on black and doom metal artists. The label had a sub-label called Wounded Love Records, which has released albums by Dolorian and Taake. A ...

, the most recent of which, ''Demonized'', was released in 2007. In 2003 the band participated in the

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

Tribute album ''Order of the Tyrants'', released by

, covering the song "Sorrows Of The Moon". On December 30, 2013, Maria Kolokouri's husband Nick Maiis released a statement revealing that she had leukemia and was critically ill. On August 9, 2014, Maiis posted another statement on behalf of his wife, saying that, while Maria had beaten the leukemia, the complications from the disease had caused her to take a turn for the worse and she was not expected to survive the day. Shortly afterwards another post was made to Tristessa's official Facebook page saying that she had just died. On August 10, 2014,

Metal Archives Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various Heavy metal gen ...

reported that, following Tristessa's death Astarte had split-up, as she was the leader and only consistent member during Astarte's nearly-twenty year career. In September 2014 the remaining members of Astarte announced that they would be reuniting and adopting their initial name, Lloth. They said that they would be joined with some previous members from the band's early incarnation to release a new album (their first since their 1997 demo ''Dancing in the Dark Lakes of Evil'') dedicated to Tristessa's memory and legacy. The group also revealed their new logo, which draws attention to the "t" in Lloth, which is also in Tristessa's honour.

Members

Final lineup

*Derketa – keyboards *Nikos "Ice" Asimakis – drums *Lycon – session guitars, bass *Hybris – guitar (2003–2014)

Former members

*Nemesis – guitar (1995–2003) *Kinthia – guitar, lead vocals (1995–2003) *Katharsis – keyboards (2003–2008) *Psychoslaughter aka Aithir – session drums (1995–1997) *Stelios Darakis – drums *Stelios Mavromitis – guitars *

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

– vocals *Maria "Tristessa" Kolokouri – bass, guitar, keyboards (1995–2014), vocals (2003–2014; died in August 2014)

Special guests

* Spiros Antoniou from

Septicflesh Septicflesh (formerly known as Septic Flesh) are a Greek death metal band from Athens, founded in 1990. History Septicflesh were formed in Athens in March 1990 by Sotiris Vayenas (guitar), Spiros Antoniou (bass and vocals), and Christos Ant ...

("Astarte" of the album ''

Quod superius sicut inferius Quod may refer to: * ''The Quod'', a contemporary nickname for the English Quota System during the Napoleonic Wars * a ''quod'', the main playing item in the fictional sport of Quodpot in the Harry Potter universe * Quod (board game), an abstract ...

'') *

from Lloth ("Bitterness of Mortality (Mecoman)" of the album '' Sirens'') * Shagrath from

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

("The Ring (of Sorrow)" of the album '' Sirens'') * Sakis Tolis from

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creati ...

("Oceanus Procellarum (Liquid Tomb)" of the album '' Sirens'') *

Attila Csihar Attila Csihar (; born 29 March 1971), also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian extreme metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work in Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and American drone-doom project Sunn O))). Author Ian Christe descr ...

from

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

("Lycon" of the album '' Demonized'') *

from Lloth ("God Among Men" of the album '' Demonized'') *

Henri Sattler God Dethroned is a Dutch extreme metal band from Beilen, originally formed in 1990. Biography God Dethroned was formed in 1990 by singer and guitar player Henri Sattler, with Hans Leegstra (guitar) and Ard de Weerd. Sattler and Leegstra had pre ...

from

God Dethroned God Dethroned is a Dutch extreme metal band from Beilen, originally formed in 1990. Biography God Dethroned was formed in 1990 by singer and guitar player Henri Sattler, with Hans Leegstra (guitar) and Ard de Weerd. Sattler and Leegstra had pre ...

("Queen of the Damned" of the album '' Demonized'') * Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy ("Black at Heart" of the album '' Demonized'')

Discography

;Lloth *'' Dancing in the Dark Lakes of Evil'' (1997) ;Astarte *'' Doomed Dark Years'' (1998),

*'' Rise From Within'' (2000), Black Lotus *''

'' (2002), Black Lotus *'' Sirens'' (2004),

*'' Demonized'' (2007), Avantgarde Music

References

External links

Encyclopaedia Metallum ProfileOfficial MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astarte All-female bands Greek black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Musical quintets Blackened death metal musical groups Musical groups from Athens 1995 establishments in Greece